Hey everyone, I'm having a really strange internet issue at my commune. We have a main router that delivers fantastic speeds of around 500 Mbps, but when I connect to my personal router, my speeds drop to only 15-20 Mbps which are super inconsistent. Oddly enough, my friend's router, which is wired from mine, gets great speeds around 90 Mbps and is very stable. We've tried swapping out my router and directly connecting devices, but nothing seems to work. What could be causing this problem?
5 Answers
That's quite the router setup! It sounds like there may be a few layers of complexity. You might want to start with checking the Ethernet cables first to make sure they’re in good shape. Bad cables can affect performance greatly.
What model of router are you using? If it’s a WiFi 5 or 6 model and you’re using a wired connection, you should typically see better speeds. Make sure your devices are plugged in correctly!
Make sure you’re not using a T100 router – that could really cap your speeds! If you're unsure how to check the router model, just look for the specifications usually printed on the device itself.
Older devices can also be a problem if they don't support modern speed standards. If your devices are outdated, they might not be able to take full advantage of the internet speed you’re paying for.
You might be facing a double NAT issue. You should only have one main router handling your internet connection. Ideally, your setup should just have the main router connected to the WAN, and then switches connecting to different areas. Your home router should probably be set to Access Point mode to avoid routing conflicts.
I see what you mean. So it’s better to use switches instead of having routers daisy chained together?